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Anti-Federalist
The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared that the new national government would be too powerful and thus threaten individual liberties, given the absence of a bill of rights -
Federalist Papers
The essays urged the ratification of the United States Constitution, which had been debated and drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 -
Democratic-Republicans
They believed in states' rights and a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and that the government should only do what is stated in it. -
Jacksonian Democrats
In 1828 Andrew Jackson’s Democratic Party (which came out of the Democratic-Republicans) came to power -
The Party of Lincoln (Republicans)
the Republican Party emerged to combat the expansion of slavery into American territories after the passing of the Kansas–Nebraska Act. -
Roosevelt Democrats
the Democrats favored federal government activity to combat the Depression and proposed programs to benefit disadvantaged groups. -
Modern Democrats
the modern Democratic Party generally supports a strong federal government with powers to regulate business and industry in the public interest; federally financed social services and benefits for the poor, the unemployed, the aged, and other groups; and the protection of civil rights. -
Modern Republicans
the modern Republican Party supports states’ rights against the power of the federal government in most cases, and it opposes the federal regulation of traditionally state and local matters, such as policing and education.